Useful for beginners

How to play and blow the recorder

Practice the blowing technique enough. Use a gentle air stream with continuous airflow. At the beginning this is the most difficult for a beginner.

  • If you blow it too sharp, it will result in an unpleasant sound. You should use gentle technique to receive musical tones.

  • Also watch my video about the correct breathing technique, this will help

You should also learn the correct tonguing. The above video will help you do that. You should first start every tone with the articulation ‘too’. Your tongue should hit the roof of your mouth when starting a tone.

  • This will provide a clear and firm airstream which makes the tone clean.

The first note you should try is the note ‘B’. For this you need to cover the back hole with your left thumb, and the first hole of the middle joint with your left pointer. With you right thumb balance your recorder. Now try to blow it with the articulation ‘too’.

  • If the tone is not pleasant for your ears, make sure you have covered all the holes properly and your fingers are flat.

  • Another reason can be that you blow your recorder with too much air and too hard.

  • Practice note ‘B’ until you are confident about it.

  • Be careful not to say ‘too’ out loud. It is just a tonguing technique. to receive the proper tones.

Recorder notes and finger charts, fingerings

In this video you can find all the necessary fingerings and holding techniques that are useful for a beginner.

If you purchase any of my online course materials you will receive a fingering booklet for FREE as a gift with photos and advice for each note.

Half notes on recorder

Half notes are located between whole notes, at half way. Normally whole notes are one unit far from each other and between them from half unit are half notes located (exceptions will be mentioned below).

Imagine a piano with its black and white buttons.
Whites are the whole notes (C, D, E, F, G, A, B) blacks are half notes.
There are two types of half notes. First, when you move up from a whole note (called ‘sharp’) second you move downwards (called flat).

Example 1: you move from C (white button on a piano) up to the closest black button, we will call that C sharp, in case of D, it is called D sharp…etc.

Example 2: you move from E (white button on a piano) down to the closest black button, we will call that E flat, in case of D, it is called D flat.

Note! that there are two pairs of white buttons between which there are no black button. This is E-F and B-C. The reason for that is the following. E-F and B-C are originally only half unit far from each other, so there is no place for a half note to be placed between them.

Example 1: you move from E half unit up you will reach F(=E sharp); you move from F half unit down you will reach E(=F flat).

Example 2: you move from B half unit up you will reach C(=B sharp); you move from C half unit down you will reach B(=C flat).

The most commonly used half notes in recorder playing are: F sharp, C sharp and B flat. With my videos you will be able to play songs that include these half notes.